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2028 Formula One season (ME)
The was the 17th Formula One championship. It was contested over 16 countries in accordance with cycle two of the Grand Prix calendar cycle. Calendar Signed team and drivers Team changes * EADS–BMW → Santander–Toyota. The management of Team EADS put the outfit into liquidation after the season, citing their failure to progress to the front of the grid as a reason. BMW, off whom EADS had bought engines since both organizations' arrivals in , were suspected as a main buyer due to their interest in having their own team. However, the German auto manufacturer denied these allegations, stating that if they owned a team, their team would be the only team running the BMW engine, and that they didn't want to sacrifice their good relationship with Williams. Santander opted to become Toyota's young driver programme team, similar to the way Minardi operates for McLaren. Their engine deal was set to last until the same point as Sauber's, for the season. * North McLaren–? founded. McLaren Group founded a second Formula One team, comprising mainly of ex-Caterham, -Cloud and -Renault personnel. The group named it North McLaren, and renamed its first team to South McLaren Honda, the two teams being named based on their relative geographic locations. South McLaren would, for all intensive purposes, be a completely different team, but they would still be managed by the McLaren Group. Ferrari announced a deal with North McLaren wherein the Italian auto company would supply engines and test driver Abner Ashley for at least a year. * Honda McLaren F1 Team → South McLaren Honda. Driver changes Romain Grosjean retired from (South) McLaren. The Frenchman had 274 Grands Prix to his name, of which 20 were victories, and had featured in almost all races since the series' conception in . Long-time McLaren test driver Mark Reier replaced his seat, the Australian bringing some young talent to the team. Ferrari also announced they would lease Abner Ashley and supply engines to new team, North McLaren, for a year. The Brit would then be considered for a seat at Ferrari after Jean-Eric Vergne retired before next season. Abner would remain a third driver for Ferrari, stepping in if any drivers were to get injured. North McLaren also hired Guatier Faure to add some young talent to the team. The Frenchman left Ford after a quiet season, and had had, before that, three impressive years at EADS, coming 4th overall with three victories in his first season. Ford hired Greek Sotiris Dimitriou from Minardi to replace him, whilst Minardi replaced the Dimitriou with ex-driver Royal Beck for two years until development driver Octavio Paredes was ready. Bernard Babineaux announced his retirement from the sport following the 2027 Italian Grand Prix. The Canadian had two wins and eleven more podiums to his name, and marked the first grid since without a Canadian driver. Replacing him as first driver at EADS-turned-Santander was the experienced Japanese Toyota test driver Gorou Kurosawa, who would help the team develop for a year before himself retiring. As EADS had planned, Dawood Amjad would not be offered a contract renewal for 2028, and he, too, chose to retire. Replacing him as second driver with less experience was Badr Hussain, who had participated in a Grand Prix for Sauber when Kelsey Martinson was injured in . Young driver programmes Results and standings : See also: [ Results sheet]